RAA X, Industrial Wastes
Following the Destruction of the Dock Worker/Shadow Cartel Orbital Infrastructure in Raa…
Canopied by the towering carapace shell of a providence class freighter to shield from acid rain, Prince Seraghis addresses a massive crowd. Thunder rumbles and echoes throughout the melting ruined city. The darkness is dimly illuminated by a dull amber glow as the light of the sun struggles to penetrate the heady vapors and smog. Armored Warriors with the distinctive red insignia of Task Force 641 supervise while thousands of tonnage in foodstuffs and medical aid is offloaded from the freighter and distributed to a desperate mob. Supported by loudspeakers, Seraghis’s voice projects over the cries of the mob.
“Abandoned by your Empire, you have suffered dearly. Without Imperial protection, pirates and cartels exploited your world, devouring its resources, ravaging your people, forcing you to build and service the very factories that destroyed your world. For years you endured these pirates; a long agonizing death, perishing alongside your planet only to be traded to cartels like cattle when all was stripped away. Your population has been decimated, and your own planet poisons you.”
“But today, the pirates have fled, and their orbital factories are destroyed! Raa is free!”
(cheers)
“But what freedom is this? The freedom to die? To fight each other to cling to life on this hell as long as you can, until pestilence and the elements take you? They left you to die in the wastes they forced you to create to satisfy their greed.”
“We come to you as friends, after all others have abandoned you. We have little to give, but what we have we share gladly. We will not allow you to perish.”
(more cheers)
“We intend to establish a refugee camp here in the capitol; a safe haven. We will help you build shelters and grow food underground, protect you from the pirates and criminals above, and establish a provisional government. But I fear the damage to your world is severe, and may never be undone.”
“We can provide transport to a number of worlds across the region for those wanting to begin anew, but I cannot guarantee your reception. So many worlds out here are suffering without an Empire to protect them as of old.”
“Those of you who have gained industrial expertise need not fear for your livelihood; we will arrange free passage for you and your families should you wish to find paying work in Tzvi.”
“And for those who want REVENGE against the pirates who have wronged you, I invite you to join our ranks as Crusaders.”
“Let this Foundation Day be the foundation of a new beginning for the people of Raa!”
“We shall return!”
As the final aid cargoes are offloaded, TF641 personnel beat a hasty retreat into the massive freighter bays. Civilians fight and struggle to board, clinging to any handhold as long as they can. As the freighter slowly ascends, the monstrous floodlights paint over the scattering mob, while the more desperate risk the acid rain to grab as much as they can.
Inside the freighter, Prince Seraghis smiles. Sure, he felt for the people, but like any ‘altruist’, this was symbiotic. He just bought an entire planet with the contents of a single freighter. The planet’s raw materials might be stripped away, but people are a much more valuable resource.
